


Who would've known?

by pastfics (starlighteyed)



Series: 5sos collection [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No 5 Seconds of Summer, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Australia, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, It's good I promise, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Men Crying, Mentions of Cancer, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Pining, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, University, Unrequited Love, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000, just read it!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 22:08:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8914774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlighteyed/pseuds/pastfics
Summary: Michael feels hopeless after losing his mother, moving away to Melbourne from Sydney so he can forget about his memories that now hurt him like knives in his heart. In his summer break, Michael goes back to Sydney to see his friends, the memory of his mother passing still fresh. Calum's there to help him, and things change for the better.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! :)  
> Well, lately I've been feeling very inspired to write one shots, and as I love Malum (and Lashton of course), I decided to write this. I've been working on it for a few days now and I think I can say now that I'm happy with how it turned out.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it. Sorry if something doesn't make sense, English is my second language. :D  
> Make sure to leave a comment and kudos if you liked it!! :) It would make me so happy, I would really appreciate it.  
> If anyone needs someone to talk to, my tumblr is [bluewednesdays](http://bluewednesdays.tumblr.com). If you're feeling down, I'm here. <3  
> I love you all, hope you have a Merry Christmas (as it is approaching) or happy whatever you're celebrating. :) I also wish you all a happy new year.  
> Take care, stay alive. <3

“Michael?” He was shaken from his thoughts as he heard the voice of the boy who he knew oh-so-well.  
“Calum?” He couldn’t think of a better reply so he just said his friend’s name.  
“Are you okay?” The boy with the cocoa brown eyes and fluffy hair asked. As he was looking at his friend, he noticed how bad he looked. Dark circles under his eyes from weeks of not sleeping more than 1 or 2 hours a day; cherry red lips from biting down so hard on them; his now skinnier frame from the lack of motivation to eat and stay alive. The events that happened close to one year ago now had been hard on him.  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.” He said quietly. He felt his tears drop down onto his cheeks which were now pink from crying. Michael has forgotten there was a cigarette in his hands, he only remembered when his senses woke up and the smoke has gone to his lungs. He then took a drag again, slowly sucking in the fag and releasing the mist into the thin air afterward. If he was one thing, then it wasn’t okay, it was _fucking broken_.  
“Are you sure?” Calum asked again. He had been so worried and heartbroken for his friend.  
“No, I’m not fucking _okay_. Please, I just… I just want to be alone.” The black haired boy with the navy blue fringe said. He was looking Calum when the first sentence left his lips, sounding angry, but he looked away for the last few words of his, sounding sadder. He loved Calum more than anyone, them being best friends since they were little. But he was going through things that he probably never would’ve understood.  
“Michael, I just want you to know. We are all here for you. We have no idea what you’re going through, but you’re like our brother. You know that too. So if you feel like you want to talk, we’re here. _We love you_.” Calum said reassuringly, his voice sounding soft and loving. As he said the last three words, he found Michael clinging onto him like a baby, crying his heart out. Calum put his arms around his friend, holding him tightly. The sobbing boy leaned even more into Calum’s body, feeling his warmth and the smell of aftershave surround him. After minutes of crying, he remembered that he should probably stop as Calum’s t-shirt was now wet with his tears.  
“ _Shit_. I’m so sorry, Cal, uh, god.” Michael looked up into the younger boy’s eyes as he felt the tears running down his skin.  
“It’s okay, Mike. It doesn’t matter.” Calum replied quietly and Michael’s heart fluttered as he stared into the warm brown eyes.  
“Thank you.” Michael said and he was still crying, but only with tears now. He felt like he got rid of all the stress and sadness, at least for a while. He was thankful for his friend’s kindness as he thought that it must’ve not been easy to hold a 6’1 foot tall man-child.  
“Look, I know it’s hard, Mike… But your mom loved you, and she wanted you to be happy. I don’t know much about what you feel but I know one thing for sure. You need to get yourself together a little bit. This is not healthy and I can’t watch you fall to pieces anymore. Everything around and inside you is falling apart. It has been like this for almost a year now, Michael. You need to just hold onto the good memories and show your mother who’s probably looking down at you that you still miss her but you’re happy and getting your life together.” Calum whispered into the older one’s ears, hugging him tightly, fat, heavy tears making their way down his own cheeks now.  
“Calum, I hate you…” Michael said, pushed him away from his own body and in Calum’s eyes, he looked annoyed. The younger boy swore he felt his heart breaking for a minute. This is not what he had intended.  
“Michael, I’m-“ Calum wanted to apologise, but the black-haired boy cut him off.  
“I hate you for being right.” Michael wiped his drying tears, no more following the old ones since Calum had told him what he needed to hear since the 6 month anniversary of the terrible events.  
Calum felt his heart calm down a little bit (only because the sight of Michael still made his heart race, but that wasn’t relevant at that moment). He thought his friend was going to tell him to fuck off or something even worse. But it was just him overthinking.  
Michael’s mother passed away almost a year ago. That was why he was so heartbroken ever since. He had a better relationship with his mom and dad than anyone else. It was most likely because he was an only child and they paid a lot of attention to him. His mother died from cancer and she was at such a late stage already that there was no chance of her surviving. He was falling apart so much that at her funeral, he was supposed to say the speech for her, but three sentences into it, he already broke down crying so hard that someone else had to do it who probably didn’t care half as much about her as he did. Michael was there when she fell asleep, holding her hand tightly. She never woke up. He was 18 already, the day of her death being in February. His father had told him that he needed to go away somewhere where nothing reminded him of her, which meant he left Michael behind. That made it even harder for the boy, but he understood his father, noting to himself that he will most likely never see him again. He accepted it all, but it hurt him more than anything. He needed his friends, who never got tired of trying to get him to sleep and laugh and eat. He loved them for all of that.  
It was hard for Michael, especially as he was finishing high school and was about to go to university. Now he goes to the University of Melbourne, which is at least an 8-hour drive away. He barely saw Ashton, Luke, and Calum, but he came back for the Christmas break and was staying about two months for the summer and Christmas break he had. It was January now, a few months after he had started university. All four of them know he could’ve gone to the University of Sydney like the three of them, but he wanted to move away from his hometown. It reminded him of his mother and father, and he needed to get away. It didn’t quite feel like home anymore. Not even with his three best friends. Michael was planning on moving to Darwin when he finished university to work as an architect. He loved architecture and could spend days just making blueprints for his projects in university. However, Darwin was even further away from Sydney, practically on the other side of Australia. He knew it was going to be hard alone, he knew his relationship with the boys would get worse and they would end up never hearing about each other again, but he wasn’t thinking clearly as the thought of moving back to Sydney brought tears to his eyes and clouded his brain with sad nostalgia and mourning. He wanted to start fresh. He wanted to form a new life and claim his independence with being able to earn money for and by himself. He also wanted to find his soulmate and live the rest of his life with them. He just didn’t realise that the soulmate he was going to look for in Darwin, was indeed standing in front of him, here in Sydney.  
“Mike, hey. Did you hear me?” Calum waved in front of Michael’s face. He blushed and bit his lips nervously.  
“Shit, sorry Cal. Could you like, repeat it?” Mike asked.  
“Yeah. I was just saying that we should probably go home now, okay? It’s getting cold and I don’t want you to get ill or anything.” His voice sounded so soft he thought he would pass out right in front of him. His crush on Calum was probably one of the two things that kept him alive all this time even if he didn’t want to admit that his crush on Calum hasn’t faded the tiniest bit since he was staying in Melbourne. Home sounded weird to Michael, as he was just staying with his best friends’, but to Calum, it was really his home. That’s where he lived most of his days.  
“Yeah, sure.” Michael sighed. So as Calum indicated the direction his car was probably parked with a nod and started walking, the older followed him.  
The walk had been quiet. As they got near the car, Calum tripped (and almost fell) on the fist-sized rock that he didn’t seem to notice before but was on the pavement next to the road that the car was parked at. The Kiwi boy laughed a little to himself, and as Michael saw this, he started laughing too. It was a sincere laugh, the first one Calum has seen on his friend’s face in a long while. They both didn’t know what was so funny but as the older boy started giggling, the chocolate brown eyed boy laughed harder and they ended up crying laughing together for 5 minutes, looking like two weirdos. They didn’t care. Calum was happy that Michael was laughing. It was the sweetest sound on the Earth for Calum that moment.  
When they both sat in the car, buckled up and Calum started the engine, Michael decided to hug his best friend even though he could only hug his shoulders. Calum smiled as he looked at him, Michael meeting his eyes, pale sky blue and deep cocoa brown getting lost in each other’s beauty. Neither of them would admit it, but they both knew deep down that they really wanted to kiss each other in that moment. It would’ve only taken a quarter of a second to close the gap that seemed to be awfully big right then and there, but nothing happened except that Michael has let go of Calum and let him drive them home.  
For the first time in 11 months, Michael felt hopeful for a happier future. He tried to think of all the good things about his mother which made him feel a little bit more positive. He even smiled to himself, looking out the window. Calum found himself looking at the now happy-looking boy at a red light. He looked lovely with that smile on his face, it was a better sight than anything. He was partially blind for a few minutes, only seeing Mike. He was shaken by the sound of the horn of the car behind him. Michael looked at his friend with a smile on his face, finding it a little funny that he didn’t notice the green light. He wondered what distracted him.  
When they got home, they walked in casually into the living room, laughing. Luke and Ashton were watching a movie, but as soon as they heard the chuckles of the two other boys, they jumped up and paused the film for a minute. They both looked at Calum weirdly, but when he quickly shot a smile towards them, they were happily grinning along with Michael. They didn’t ask, they just knew that the Kiwi boy had talked to him and made him feel better, also changing the way Michael was seeing life.  
***  
The next day, Michael woke up to sunlight streaming in through the mint green curtains of his room (on any other days, when he was in Melbourne, it would be just a guest room in Calum, Luke  & Ashton’s house). He rubbed his eyes, yawned and sat up a little bit, taking in all his surroundings. He sighed, glancing at the time on the digital clock beside his bed on the drawer. 10:47 am, it said. When did he fall asleep?  
Michael noticed that on his desk was Calum, sleeping on an opened book. What was he doing in his room, though? They all had separate ones, so why was he sleeping in an uncomfortable position on _his_ desk and not comfortable in his own king size bed?  
“Calum?” Michael called for him quietly. It was so easy and great to say his name; it just fit his tongue perfectly. It meant a lot to Michael; that name meant safety and home to him. Home didn’t necessarily have to be a house, to the black haired boy, home meant Calum. He never realised this after he started feeling like Sydney, or anywhere else for that matter, didn’t feel like home.  
The younger boy stirred but woke up from his dream. It must’ve not been the most comfortable position to sleep in, so most likely that is why his friend was woken so quickly.  
“Mike.” Calum started to smile sleepily (which Michael thought was adorable, but he couldn’t say that out loud) at the sight of his friend being awake.  
“How are you?” Michael asked lazily.  
“I’m quite happy actually.” He stretched, with his arms in the air, him looking at the digital clock Michael just looked at a few minutes ago. “You slept 12 hours. The first time you slept that long since stuff happened.” Calum knew it was the truth because he would talk to Michael almost every day through Skype, Facebook or just texts when he was away. The older boy always told him how he could never sleep properly and spend most of his nights writing poems and trying to do extra work for his architecture classes.  
“Yeah.” He didn’t know what to say to that, but he was happy he could finally sleep for so long. He felt refreshed if he was honest. He felt more alive than before. It was all because of Calum, he thought. “Come here.” Michael bravely patted the bed beside him as he moved so he could make space for his friend in case he decided to do what the older would’ve liked him to do. To Michael’s surprise, Calum did decide to join him in his comfortable bed after all.  
Michael’s heart started to beat slightly faster than usual.  
As Calum laid down next to him on the bed, the older shuffled closer to him and they put their arms around each other and cuddled. Michael loved to inhale Calum’s cologne, it just smelled like heaven on Earth. Their skin touched in some places, which made both of their stomachs tingle with something more than friendly love. They both knew what it was, but it was hard to admit even to themselves. However, Luke and Ashton knew what this was. Both Michael and Calum had been pouring their hearts out to the two of them about each other, with Luke and Ashton trying to convince them to tell one another. It never happened, though. Not yet, at least.  
So they ended up cuddling and talking quietly about Michael’s mother, Karen and how lovely she was. They also talked about funny memories when they went on holidays together. It all reminded both of them how much they loved each other. When they said it, it was claimed to be, by both Michael and Calum, platonic love, when they thought it, it was romantic love.  
They didn’t talk for a little while, their brain full of thoughts, but their body surrounded by the warmth of one another.  
How they fell in love was two different stories. It all happened over the years of their friendship. They met in kindergarten when they were barely 4, but their souls connected as soon as they were introduced to each other. Their mothers have been friends long before they were born, but somehow they lost contact and only found each other again through their children. Both Joy and Karen were happy the boys liked each other.  
Throughout the years, they realised what they felt.  
Calum was the first to fall for his best friend. He was only 15 when he realised everything. He admitted to himself that he loves Michael more than a friend, but he never wanted to confess to his own brain that he was in love. Being in love was a pretty harsh expression for Calum. He thought to be in love meant being in a relationship and falling in love slowly with the person. But for him, it was like a truck colliding with a brick wall. The thought, the realisation hit him with such intensity. He was at Michael’s on a Thursday night like he always was since they started that school year (year 9) to study with his friend for some of their subjects, and then to eat dinner there with his family. Calum liked Michael’s mother and father, they always made him and Mike laugh and took them to places that Calum’s parents wouldn’t have had the time for most of the time. But they were just sitting in the elder’s room, studying Geography. Calum hated the subject, it was so complicated and boring to him, but to Michael… It was different. He was interested in everything about it. The moment Calum was shocked with the realisation was when he and Mike were sitting on the floor, next to his bed, on his fluffy, blue carpet. Calum was looking down at the textbook on the carpet, whereas Michael was leaning against the bed frame, his knees bent in front of him, the same textbook on them as in front of Calum. The Kiwi boy wasn’t able to pay attention for long. He looked up at his friend, and he thought he was going to pass out right then and there. The sight he was seeing was unbelievable. It was a sunny spring afternoon in October (in Australia, spring occurred between September and November, unlike in most countries around the world), meaning light was slightly flowing in through the blinds, the setting sun’s light brightening the room up. Michael’s face was slightly illuminated with orange and yellow colours, his lips were a deep carmine pink and his eyes were pale sky blue like always with a hint of green in them. His hair was blonde at the time, his natural hair colour that Calum loved even though Michael hated it. But what Calum felt at that moment could not be described. He was weirdly sweating, his heart beating fast and his stomach filling up with a different kind of warmth. He knew what it was but he didn’t want to believe it.  
Michael didn’t care much about relationships until he was 15. He didn’t care about sexuality, boys, or girls for that matter, but Calum has changed everything. He realised how he felt about his best friend in a different way. It was hard, it took him years to realise it all, but it came crashing down on him. He was doing his homework alone for once, as Calum was gone to his grandparents for the weekend. He missed him already even though he’s only been gone since the day before. Love didn’t mean anything to Michael, but he slowly realised he was feeling this exact emotion for Calum, not wanting to accept it. It was a hot summer day, sometime in December before Christmas, he was towering above his Maths textbooks, trying to understand some stupid theory that he didn’t care about. His phone was on his desk next to him, and as soon as the screen lit up, he looked away from the book and picked it up right away as he noticed it was an incoming call from Calum. His bored facial expression now changed into the biggest smile ever as he said hello. When they were apart, no matter if it was a few hours or even a week, they called each other every time. That was the case right then. They laughed during their conversation, and when the call ended, it was all Michael could think about. How the sound of his giggles made Michael’s heart flutter and how his head started feeling a little bit dizzy was what made him realise everything. All he wanted to do was hug him and love him for the rest of his life. At the thought of Calum having someone else to hold at night, someone else to kiss, someone else to marry and have kids with, Michael felt sick. He felt like he was about to throw up. So he went to sleep. But he realised nonetheless. The recognition shot through him before he fell asleep. He has been slowly falling, and now he was at the bottom of that pit he was falling into. It was that feeling.  
***  
A few days have passed since their cuddles in Michael’s temporary bed. He missed the feeling of warmth surrounding him as Calum wrapped him in his arms. He missed breathing against his neck, he missed inhaling his cologne, he missed the feeling of their contrasting skins meeting and rubbing against each other. He missed everything about it, but little did he know, so did Calum.  
Mike was thankful for Ashton’s existence when he asked all of them if they wanted to have a celebratory party for their reunion. They didn’t have the time, until a few days before Ashton’s proposal of the party, to actually just have some beer, watch stupid comedy shows that were on TV and discuss how the last few months went for all of them. They were busy with going to Christmas parties of their families. All of them went to see each other’s family, but Mike was the most important person to be dragged along to family get-togethers. Michael hated Christmas as it reminded him how he didn’t have a family. His mom died, his dad was god-knows-where, and seeing his siblings wasn’t an option as he didn’t have any. He also didn’t want to see his cousins or grandparents. It would’ve just filled him with more sadness. But the boys could always cheer him up.  
On the day of their agreed ‘celebratory party’, Ashton agreed to go out with Luke to get some beer and some snacks. Michael and Calum told them they were going to go to the park to get some fresh air. Ashton and Luke just looked at them with an amused smirk-smile when they announced it, which got both Mike and Cal blushing, but they went out anyways.  
“How are you feeling, Mike?” Calum asked softly as they were sitting down on a bench in a park near the apartment he shared with the other two. On the way there, the two of them were talking about memories they shared from the times they were younger, the times when everything had been easier. They laughed and smiled at the stupid things they used to do, which made both of chests fill up with a warm and happy kind of nostalgia, not the dark and threatening kind Michael was used to.  
“I’m good, I think. I’ve been feeling better.” Michael smiled, first looking down at his shoes, then up at Calum who was sitting on his right. It made Calum blush a little as he started to smile along with his friend, first looking at Mike, then looking down on the ground in front of him.  
“I’m glad, Mikey.” Calum paused, looking at the mentioned boy. “You know, I was so worried about you. You’re my best friend, and _fuck_ , even though we live far away and you might not ever come back and I might not live close to you again…” He paused once more, sighed and continued as tears started forming in his eyes. “You’re _still_ my best friend, and you’ll never not be my best friend. I miss you lots. Ashton and Luke miss you a lot too. Sometimes I wish you still lived here.” Calum finished talking, not knowing where this was going.  
“Thank you, Calum. It means a lot to me, and you’re still my best friend too. I miss you all too, you don’t know how much but… I’m so sorry, Cal. I feel like I can’t move back here. It’s just too painful to live in the city where you were brought up, and most of the people you grew up around are gone. I-I don’t think I could live here again… Not unless someone makes the pain go away. Like…” Michael sighed, not knowing how to finish the sentence.  
“Like a boyfriend or a girlfriend?” Calum always knew what to say and how to finish Michael’s sentences. They knew each other so well.  
“Yeah.” Michael laughed humourlessly. “I guess.”  
Calum nodded, pursing his lips and looking back on the ground. He _wanted_ to say so many things but he knew he _couldn’t_. It would just hurt both of them. Michael probably didn’t like him like he liked Michael, or even _loved_ , but he hasn’t admitted it fully to himself yet. He would probably tell Calum how he didn’t feel that way, which would break his heart, and also Michael’s as Mike would know how Calum would feel in that situation. It was all too complicated. But he knew he had to tell him before he left Sydney again. He felt like it was his last chance as he didn’t know when Michael was coming to see them again. Michael didn’t know either.  
After a few minutes of silence, they both decided to go home. The walk was quiet, but not awkward. They were going over a thousand things in their head, on what the hell to do when Michael’s free days are up and it’s time for him to go back to Melbourne.  
When they got back to the apartment, they went inside after Calum opened the door. They took off their shoes and both of them were about to go into the living room when they heard moans coming from there. Calum and Michael stopped dead in their tracks as the younger boy, who was ahead of Mike, put his arms out in front of his friend. He looked at him with a grin on his face, one that suggested to Michael that he was about to laugh so hard his tears would start to fall.  
“ _Fuck, Ashton._ ” Luke moaned. “ _Mmmm. Baby, deeper._ ” Calum and Michael were still looking at each other and laughing quietly with a hint of disgust in their eyes.  
“ _I’ll do anything just to hear you moan louder, baby._ ” Ashton answered, and that’s when the two boys decided it was enough and they would go upstairs, to Michael’s room and hang out for a bit there because they didn’t want to stop Luke and Ashton from doing whatever they were doing, mostly because it would’ve made things a little awkward and none of them wanted to see their best friends _fucking on the sofa_. So when they arrived in the guest room that was Michael’s temporary room, they sat down on the bed, letting out their giggles that were held back. They were crying in the end, reciting the words, mocking them while doing so too. It was then Michael decided something, seeing Calum laugh with him like they did before his mother passed away. It was then when Michael finally admitted it to himself. He had fallen in love with his best friend.  
About 15 minutes later, Michael and Calum went downstairs to see whether Luke and Ashton have finished moaning. They were relieved when they saw them kissing passionately against the wall, but with their clothes on. Both of them sighed, letting out the air they didn’t know they were holding. So they walked in.  
“Hey, lovebirds, sorry to interrupt.” Calum stepped in with a smirk on his face. Michael wanted to kiss him right then and there, while he would be pushed against the wall, like Luke was. _Oh god_ , Michael thought. _Shit_. He could feel his jeans tightening. _Great_.  
“ _Mmmm. Baby, deeper._ ” Michael moaned, mimicking what Luke has said earlier. Luke blushed almost immediately, looking down, probably thinking he could hide it. He bit down on his lip but smiled awkwardly on the floor.  
“Fuck you, assholes!” Ashton blushed, but held up his middle finger. “We’re never goddamn alone, so why do you blame us?” The boy with the peridot green eyes said jokingly. It was more of a rhetorical question.  
“It’s okay, but I didn’t know you guys were together.” Michael said smiling, but biting his lip as he wanted to cry in that moment. He knew that meant he didn’t know because he didn’t really talk to them and Calum might’ve forgotten to mention it.  
“We’ve only been together for 2 months, so don’t worry about it, Mikey.” Luke said, looking up, finally with a face that differentiated from a tomato, unlike a few minutes before.  
“Congrats, you two. I wish you the best.” Michael said, opening his arms, initiating a group hug. All four of them ended up laughing and hugging. It made Michael feel like he was home again. He realised then that he wanted to stay, even though he couldn’t. Sydney is where he belonged, not Melbourne or anywhere else.  
They ended up drinking beer like they had planned, all while laughing at memories and entertaining comedy programmes. Everything fell into place, but then everything fell apart again.  
Later that night, when all of them went to bed, Michael couldn’t stop thinking about Calum. In a few days, he will have to fly back to Melbourne. His head was full of thoughts about future and how he wasn’t sure about moving to Darwin at all anymore. He wanted to just give up everything and come back to Sydney, but that didn’t seem like an option with him doing his degree in architecture in Melbourne. Michael was deep in his thoughts and has been staring at the ceiling for so long he didn’t even notice that it was now 4 am. He noticed this when he opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table with teardrops on his eyelashes. He had been silently crying for 2 hours and he didn’t even realise it. He decided to reach for his phone and write a [text](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6ohpaeTBJUlTmllSVAxMVRMSDQ/view?usp=sharing).  
**_To: Cal Pal_**  
**_Are you awake?_**  
**_Now I am. What’s up, Mikey?_**  
**_Shit, I’m sorry. I just can’t sleep. What do I do?_**  
**_Don’t worry about it. I’ll be there in a second._**  
And he kept his word. He was there in less than a minute. Calum opened the door quietly as if Michael was sleeping. They were both blinded by the darkness that was surrounding them. However, on the desk in Michael’s temporary room, there was a small light, which Calum switched on, surprising the boy who was laying on the bed. It barely lit up the room and the light barely reached the bed, but it was something. The Kiwi boy softly smiled at the pale boy sadly as he saw his tears. He just looked on the bed suggestively, which Michael understood and moved a little bit so his friend could squeeze himself next to him. They immediately started cuddling and the familiar warmth was there again, radiating off of Calum.  
“Cal?” A whisper came from the elder one’s mouth.  
“Yeah, Mike?” He answered, whispering into Michael’s ear.  
“I was planning to move to Darwin when I finished university in Melbourne. I wanted to work as an architect there.” He said quietly and he swore he could feel Calum tightening his arms around him. Michael just breathed in his cologne, the tip of his nose against the darker skinned neck. He wanted to bite it so softly and leave just a mark or two to let everyone know that Calum was his. But the reality was that he wasn’t and he had no right of marking him. He could feel a knot forming in his stomach at the thought of that.  
“I’m happy for you. You go and take on the world.” Calum said with a slightly sad tone. Or maybe he was just tired. Michael wasn’t sure.  
“I… I changed my mind, Calum.” Michael breathed out into Calum’s neck which made the younger one’s neck tingle and gave him goose bumps. He hoped Michael didn’t feel it.  
“Why?” The answer came. Calum felt a little bit relieved but sad for his friend as that meant that something was stopping him from doing what he initially planned.  
“I want to come back here. It’s still my home.” He whispered. _Home is wherever you are_ , he wanted to say, but he knew he _couldn’t_ , so he just bit his tongue.  
“That would be great, Mike. There are so many opportunities here too.” Calum whispered back.  
“Yeah.” Michael responded and they fell into silence. They both felt each other’s heart beats speed up as they had the same thought and looked into each other’s eyes. They wanted to just lean in and kiss, but Michael wasn’t able to stop himself this time. He removed his right hand from Calum’s hip and put it on his cheeks instead. The cheeks under his hand heated up and moved a little as Calum’s lips were forming a tiny smile. Michael thought it was adorable. Before he could stop himself from committing the stupidity he was going to do, he pressed his lips against Calum’s. He licked his lips and those slowly parted so Michael could slip his tongue inside and search for Calum’s one. He found it and then the next thing he felt was a warm feeling in his heart. It felt like he was in paradise. This kiss meant more than anything to the both of them. But the feeling of warmth only lasted a few more seconds as Calum tore his lips away from Michael’s, breathed a quick _I’m so sorry_ out and ran out of the room. Then Michael found himself alone and crying again. He didn’t sleep until 5 in the morning and the sleep was only 2 hours long.  
***  
Both of their hearts started breaking and falling apart as the days have passed and they barely talked to each other more than what was necessary. Ashton and Luke caught up on that, they noticed it right away. Two days after the _incident_ , Calum went on a walk by himself. That’s when the two of them jumped on Michael with hundreds of questions. It was hard for him to answer them.  
“What is going on between you two?” Luke asked with a frown on his face. Michael didn’t know how to tell them, but he sighed and collected some mental strength to say it out loud.  
“Two days ago, I couldn’t sleep. He came to my room at 4 am. I kissed him, he kissed me back and then ran out of my room.” Michael answered quickly. “I don’t fucking know what’s going on and I’m fucking scared that I about to lose him and it’s _all_ my fault. Fuck.” The black haired boy said. He closed his eyes, trying to avoid looking at either of his friends. Then he felt arms around his. Four of them, to be exact. He opened his eyes.  
“Hey, Mike. Just try and talk to him. He likes you. Hell, if you knew how many times we’ve realised this… You wouldn’t hesitate, not one bit.” Luke said.  
“I just… He ran out of my room, I want him to come and talk to me.” Michael said and both boys nodded. They understood, but were planning on doing something about this.  
***  
Michael was having his daily 2 hours of sleep at 10 o’clock in the morning when he felt two pairs of arms grabbing him, getting him out of his bed, holding him by his legs and arms. He opened his eyes and looked up to realise it was Luke and Ashton. Even if it wasn’t them, the panic would’ve washed over him like it did in that moment.  
“What the fuck is this?” Michael spat.  
“You’ll see, lover boy.” Ashton said with an evil smile on his face. He was then put down and pushed into a room that was so familiar to him. The door shut in front of his face. He heard the lock click.  
“You guys can’t come out until you’ve made up.” Luke’s voice could be heard from the other side of the door and also the sound of footsteps becoming more and more distant. A realisation hit Michael, and he turned around. He’s breathed hitched in his throat. Shit, he thought as he saw Calum sitting on the king size bed, looking down sadly.  
Michael wanted to throw up right that second. He didn’t want to do this, but he _needed_ to. _They needed_ to. They’ve been avoiding each other and with that, they avoided the topic of the _kiss_.  
“What did it mean to you?” Calum asked quietly, not looking up.  
“I’m sorry. _Fuck_ , I fucked up, didn’t I, Cal?” Michael's eyes were filling up with burning tears. He wanted to tell Calum _everything_ , but he just _couldn't_. He sounded desperate for forgiveness.  
“What did it mean to you, Michael?” Calum sounded a bit more eager in an angry way.  
“ _Nothing_.” Michael said the poisonous word. It wasn't true. It was a lie that it didn’t mean anything. It meant everything.  
“Why would you kiss me then?” Calum asked, now with sadness in his voice. He was contemplating something that could make him have either everything or nothing. Everything being his best friend’s love and happiness, nothing being losing his best friend.  
“It was just the heat of the moment.” Michael said but he wanted to throw up. His words tasted sour and disgusting. It was all lies. “What did it mean to you?” He was looking on the floor, seeing his teardrops fall. He didn’t want to see the pain in his best friend’s eyes.  
“Fuck, Michael, i-it meant everything. There, _I said it_.” He started sobbing, standing up and turning away from his friend. He was visibly wiping his tears. He was looking out of the window, trying to calm down. A few seconds later he took a long breath and even though tears were still streaming down his face, he turned around to face his friend. “I’m probably going to lose you now, but I can't hide this anymore. _I love you_. Michael, I'm _in love with you_.” Calum realised what he had said. He hasn't even admitted it to himself yet and he just confessed to his best friend. Sobs escaped his mouth. He saw that Michael looked down on the floor. He was shaking, meaning he was crying too. He then looked back up at Calum, the younger boy desperately trying to find something, anything that meant Michael took it well and he isn't about to shout at him for being so stupid.  
“I’m sorry.” Michael said, tears still in his eyes. His lips curved up into a sad grin while he bit his lip. Calum thought he knew what that meant. It meant that he didn’t love him back. He looked down and started quietly sobbing again. _This is it_ , Calum thought. But what came next shocked him. “I'm so sorry I lied to you. _I'm in love with you too, Calum_.” And that made Calum look back up.  
“What?” He was more than shocked. He’s never felt so surprised before.  
“I realised this when we were 15. I admitted it just now and I-“ Michael was looking somewhere else, still crying, but he was cut off by something. He was cut off by the younger boy’s arms around him, his face buried in his neck, sobbing into the pale skin. Calum held Michael like his life depended on it. Michael hugged him back and they stayed like that for a few minutes, but they wished they could’ve stayed in that moment forever, away from the reality of Michael having to go back to Melbourne, far away from Sydney.  
Michael shakily cupped Calum’s cheeks with his hands, making him look into his eyes, the chocolate brown pair meeting with the turquoise ones. Their foreheads were touching, and they both leaned in, letting their lips connect. It felt so great for the both of them. Calum’s hands slowly made their way up to Michael’s neck and hair. Michael felt his heartbeats speed up, his stomach filling up with a feeling that was much like fire. Calum’s whole chest was filled up with a tingling sensation and his whole body had goose bumps all over it. They forgot about time and everything else, so when they started feeling how much their lungs missed air, they decided to disconnect their lips. They were panting as they both opened their eyes and looked at each other. Smiles appeared on their faces and they leaned in for one more kiss. Michael slowly licked the younger boy’s lower lip, immediately feeling as his lips parted, making it possible for him to slip his tongue into Calum’s mouth. It felt even better this way and they both felt like fireworks for going off in their whole body.  
After a while, the sad reality has kicked in and they decided that they should stop. Michael and Calum were looking deeply into each other’s eyes.  
“What does this make us?” Calum asked quietly, biting his lip.  
“Would you like to be my boyfriend?” Michael looked down on the floor shyly, blushing while asking Calum the question.  
“It’d be an honour.” Calum said and kissed the black-and-blue haired boy’s cheek. They both laughed softly, in happiness. “But now what? You’re flying back in two days, aren’t you?” The happiness was partly gone now. Fear could be heard in Calum’s voice as he spoke.  
“Yeah. So let’s make it the best two days that we’ve ever had. I promise you, I’ll come back as soon as I can. And we’ll talk every day, alright?” Michael whispered into the golden skin on Calum’s neck.  
“Okay.” Calum answered and put his arms around his now boyfriend. They hugged for a while.  
A knock on the door interrupted their emotional moment.  
“Love birds, have you made up yet?” Luke’s voice could be heard from the other side of the door.  
“Yeah, is everything okay now?” Ashton asked.  
“If you opened the door you would know, wouldn’t you?” Michael asked with a sarcastic tone.  
And so the door opened. The two of them told their best friends that they were now in a relationship, Luke and Ashton then congratulated them and told the two of them that they knew this was going to happen all along. Everything seemed great at that moment.  
Except it wasn’t.  
***  
Two fantastic days later Michael had to go back to Melbourne. The last two days have been great both for Michael and Calum. They went back to all the places they loved to go to the now abandoned playground where they used to go to every weekend when they were starting primary school; the café that has been open since long before they were born but they loved to go to after their lessons in the afternoon in secondary school; and the pizza place they used to go to in the summer before Michael moved away to Melbourne. They held hands and bought some drinks wherever they went to make them all cute little dates. Both of them wanted these 2 days to last longer than any other days, but they passed quicker than any other ones.  
Now all 4 boys were standing at the airport, Calum sadly clinging onto Michael and Michael doing the same thing to Calum. He knew he belonged in Sydney, and most importantly, he belonged in Calum’s arms, but he had to go.  
“Babe, I have to go.” Michael said, trying to hold back the tears and letting go of Calum.  
“Okay.” Calum let go of Michael too, revealing his tears and letting go of quiet sobs. That’s when Mike’s tears have decided to start rolling down his pale cheeks.  
“ _I love you, Calum_. We’ll talk every day and stuff. We’ll be fine, _I promise_.” Michael said quietly. “I’ll be back in no time. I’ll come and see you three in April, okay?” He looked questioningly at his boyfriend. He got a nod as an answer, hugged Calum tightly once more with his duffel bag hanging down from his shoulder. It was so hard, too hard for both of them. But in no time, with quick last hugs to Luke, Ashton and then Calum again, Michael was gone.  
***  
It had been 2 and a half years since Michael had gone back to Melbourne that January and their relationship seemed to be going well. They saw each other every 2 or 3 months which was needed for even Luke and Ashton because sometimes they would barely be able to handle Calum crying on their shoulders about missing Michael and could barely manage to listen to Michael’s whining about it too through Skype.  
It being the 1st April now, Calum couldn’t wait for Michael to come back and see him again, this time staying in Sydney as he had finished university. He had promised his boyfriend he would be coming back on the 10th. However, Michael had different plans than what he had promised.  
Calum was sitting on his bed, with music blasting out of his speakers and looking over his notes that he made in his lectures that day. No one was home as it was a weekend and Luke and Ashton told him they were going on a date. He didn’t mind being alone for about 2 hours, he sometimes needed to be separated from the boys because seeing them kiss and do couple stuff made him upset about how he couldn’t do that to Michael due to him being hundreds of miles away from Sydney. The door of his room opened and he jumped when he noticed it did. Luke came through it, seemingly in a hurry, quickly pulling Calum up from the bed, making him drop everything, and while he was pulling Calum by his wrist, he shut the laptop the music was coming from with such calmness that Calum was even more shocked by that.  
“Luke, will you tell me what the fuck is going on?” Calum asked, with confusion and anger in his voice.  
“We’re going on an _adventure_.” Luke said mysteriously and didn’t say anything afterwards.  
“What adventure?” Calum asked, even more confused by that.  
Luke didn’t answer. However, Luke told Calum to get his shoes and jacket on. He then led the Kiwi boy up to Ashton’s car, in which Ashton said a quick hello from the driver’s seat and Calum and Luke buckled up. They were off to somewhere Calum didn’t have a clue about. He didn’t even try to ask, just listened as his two best friends sang along to their favourite song that was on the radio. He smiled as they looked at each other with so much love in their eyes. He wished he could these kinds of small, domestic things with Michael every day, but he knew it wasn’t too long before his boyfriend was moving back to Sydney anyway. That thought made him happy and he smiled to himself.  
“Hey, Mr. Daydream, we’re here. Come on.” Luke nodded towards the door, smiling at Calum. He knew what that meant. He had to get out of the car and go somewhere he didn’t have a clue about, once again.  
He rolled his eyes and got out of the car, following Luke and Ashton to a restaurant. Calum was confused, even more so than before. He didn’t understand anything. He thought the two of them wanted to have dinner but he felt guilty about it as Michael wasn’t there. But he wasn’t sure if that was the case anymore.  
As they went inside the restaurant, Calum was asked to close his eyes, which he found ridiculous but did it anyway and he was lead somewhere. Then Ashton instructed him to stop right where he was after a few seconds of walking. Then he was allowed to open his eyes. What he saw almost made him faint.  
It was _him_ , sitting at a table that was beautifully decorated with a few candles and flowers.  
“ _Michael_?” Calum asked, feeling his eyes filling up with tears already. He didn’t expect him to be there. “What are you doing here?”  
“Surprise.” Michael smiled, looking at Calum with so much love in his eyes. He stood up and Calum jumped into his arms right that moment. “I missed you, baby.” He whispered into his boyfriend’s ears.  
“God, I missed you too, Mikey.” Calum looked at him as they got out of the hug. He quickly pressed a kiss to his lips. “How are you here so early?”  
“Just sit down, and we’ll talk about it.” Calum did what Michael told him. They talked about other things, Michael mysteriously avoided the topic. They ordered food, and when they ate, Calum asked again. Michael dyed his hair for the 10th time at least since they’ve been together, and now his hair changed from pink to a dark purple colour, with pink and blue toned bits in his hair. Calum thought he looked amazing.  
“Okay, Calum, I owe you an explanation, don’t I?” Michael asked, looking up at him as he finished his food and drank a bit of his wine. Calum just nodded. He was so happy Michael was there, but he seemed a bit weird like it wasn’t him. Like he’s changed. “Well. Um, could you like stand up?” Michael asked, and Calum didn’t hesitate for long. He had a frown on his face, however. Michael stood up with him as well.  
“Are we going somewhere?” Calum asked, still very much confused.  
“No, baby, we’re staying right here.” Michael smiled warmly. “You have nothing to worry about.” He said quietly, he took both of Calum’s hands into his and looked deeply into his eyes with so much love Calum thought he was going to faint from how much he was in love with him. The world seemed to stop. Michael quickly pressed a kiss onto the younger’s lips, and let out a stressed sigh. He then looked down, reached for something in his pocket, let go of one of Calum’s hands and kneeled down. Calum let out a gasp. He knew where this was going. “Calum, I… I love you. I love you more than anyone in this world. Or even the whole universe. I fell in love with you so deeply throughout the years. I am so lucky to be able to call you my boyfriend. You are my best friend, my soulmate, my therapist, my lover and I would like to add to this list. I want you to be mine forever, you don’t know how much. _Calum Thomas Hood, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?_ ” Michael finished what he was saying and opened the little box he has been holding onto since he kneeled down. Calum was crying long before the question, just letting his tears fall down his face while he put his free hand, which Michael wasn’t holding, in front of his mouth in disbelief. The ring was beautiful.  
“Michael, I… I’ll marry you. It’d be an honour.” Calum said and Michael’s stressed smile turned into a happy smile as his tears started to fall too. He slowly put the ring on Calum’s ring finger, stood up and kissed him softly. “I love you, Michael.” The brown haired boy said.  
“I love you too, Calum.” He smiled and kissed him again.  
As they separated after kissing and hugged, Calum saw Luke and Ashton sitting at another table, from the corner of his eye. They were kissing and having a casual date. Michael and Calum knew everything was going to be alright from that point. _It was all going to be alright, and who would’ve known at the start?_

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to leave some comments & kudos if you liked it.  
> Have a great day! <3


End file.
